Finance
UK's FTSE 100 sees first weekly fall in six; Middle East tensions in focus
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on June 20, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on June 20, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
FTSE 100 sees its first weekly fall in six weeks due to Middle East tensions and interest rate decisions impacting global markets.
(Reuters) -Britain's FTSE 100 snapped a five-week winning streak on Friday, closing out a week marred by a wave of global risk aversion amid the conflict between Israel and Iran, while a slew of interest rate verdicts were also assessed.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 dipped 0.2% to hit a more than two-week low, while the midcap index ended 0.4% higher, though with marginal weekly losses.
Drugmakers GSK and AstraZeneca were among the top drags on the FTSE 100, down 2.3% and 1.5% respectively.
Heavyweight energy shares gave back some of their gains from earlier this week as crude oil prices also edged lower. BP lagged with a 2.1% decline.
Oil prices came under pressure as the U.S. imposed new Iran-related sanctions, marking a diplomatic approach that fed hopes of a negotiated agreement.
A week into the conflict, Iran said it would not discuss the future of its nuclear programme while under attack by Israel.
A global risk-off move on tensions in the Middle East bogged down stocks around the world, although the UK's oil-heavy benchmark - down 0.8% for the week - outperformed a 1.5% drop in the Europe-wide STOXX 600.
The week also saw a slew of central bank rate decisions, with both the Bank of England and the U.S. Federal Reserve choosing to hold their rates steady.
Latest data showed UK retail sales saw their sharpest decline since December 2023 while consumer confidence rose to its highest level of 2025.
Among headlining stocks, Berkeley dropped 8.2% after the homebuilder reported results and forecast fiscal 2026 and 2027 profits below market expectations and proposed the appointment of CEO Rob Perrins as executive chair.
Metro Bank added 4% after two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters that the bank's biggest shareholder is open to selling his majority stake.
(Reporting by Twesha Dikshit and Shashwat Chauhan; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Louise Heavens)
The FTSE 100 experienced its first weekly fall in six weeks due to global risk aversion stemming from tensions in the Middle East, particularly the conflict between Israel and Iran.
Drugmakers GSK and AstraZeneca were significant drags on the FTSE 100, with declines of 2.3% and 1.5%, respectively.
Oil prices came under pressure due to new U.S. sanctions related to Iran, which contributed to a decline in heavyweight energy shares like BP, which fell by 2.1%.
Recent data indicated that UK retail sales saw their sharpest decline since December 2023, while consumer confidence rose to its highest level of 2025.
Both the Bank of England and the U.S. Federal Reserve decided to hold their interest rates steady during the week.
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